This is the second Meaghan printable paper doll of 2016, which seems surprising to me, but I checked the archives and its true. When my real friend Meaghan allowed me to name a paper doll after her, she demanded fantasy dresses, so I do my best to provide them as often as I can for her paper surrogate.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what the best ways to break up a paper doll across five days really are. Shoes are often an issue in paper doll creations, because skin is exposed. While any paper doll in the same pose can share dresses, only paper dolls with the same skintone can share shoes, especially shoes like these where even and exacto-knife couldn’t make some of these sandals work on my Edwardian Mia from the week before last, for example.

So, rather than start out with a paper doll and a dress this time, I am starting out with a paper doll and some fantasy sandals. There won’t be an accessory Thursday this week, instead each day there will be an accessory to go with the dress on display.

Also, I have a question for all my lovely readers, now that we’re five or six weeks into this new format, what do you all think? Please let me know in a comment.

I know this is “mermaid week”, but it seemed to me that even mermaid’s might need to step off onto dry-land once in a while.

So, instead of Accessory Thursday, this week we have “shoes and dry land clothes” Thursday. That title just doesn’t roll off the tongue very well, does it?

But y’all know what I mean.

So, I have been traveling so much this last few weeks, I feel like I can’t keep track of where I am or what I am doing anymore. I colored this week’s paper dolls while visiting my Sister in Alaska and I am writing this post in Georgia where I am for a professional conference. I can’t wait to get a week where I don’t travel and can just have my quite at home routine of groceries, work, friends and art.

A few days ago, I posted a blog on my Patreon page about finding inspiration. You can read it here for the next few days, but I’m closing it to non-Patrons on Monday.

So, I have the best boyfriend ever for two reasons. First of all, he puts up with me when I am at my worst which is something only someone who loves me would do. Secondly, he not only listened to me talk about the blog for three hours one day, but he came up with a fun idea of his own- “Accessory Thursdays”.

Some Thursdays I’ll be posting accessories for that week’s paper doll. One thing, he noticed was most of my paper dolls had cool accessories . So, he thought I should post them all on one day. I’m not promising every week will have an Accessory Thursday, but here is the first of this new tradition.

In this paper doll prom related accessory set, we have a three pairs of strappy high heels to go with any of the dresses. I don’t think it comes to a shock to ANY of my readers that I like to draw paper doll shoes. After all, I kinda have a thing for shoes. Meanwhile, she also has four different handbags, since any girl needs her cellphone, lipstick, and a flask to spike the punch. Where else is she going to put all that?

(I am not condoning anyone spiking their prom punch.)

Lastly, I added in a pair of long gloves. I just think gloves are so darn elegant, though I have never worn a pair.

Tomorrow, there will be a round-up of all the posts this week and then, of course, another dress. So that’ll end the first week of this new format.

Happy 4th of July! There are a lot of 4th of July printables out there, but I don’t see a lot of 4th of July printable paper dolls and is there anything better than a paper doll activity for the small ones coming to your bbq?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the 4th of July, also known as Independence Day lately. Politics in the United States this year have gotten horribly vicious, I think everyone can agree. It’s a strange thing to see. But the 4th of July should be a day when people in the United States can celebrate the fact that even when our politics get nasty, we’re still living in a pretty fantastic place.

So, I’m pretty proud to be American, even though right now I’d like to get to stop hearing about our Presidential elections. Actually, I was sick of hearing about the Presidential elections about four months ago and we’ve got a long way to go it feels like.

For the last Sprite paper doll for a while, I am pleased to introduce Víctor. Víctor is one of the guy Sprite paper dolls. When I draw guy or male paper dolls, I try to think about what paper dolls for boys might look like. I confess that I don’t have sons and I don’t really know what they are into, but it seems to be that the sort of pretend play that paper dolls encourage is just as important for boys as it is for girls.

I will confess that since I was once a little girl, and I was never a little boy, knowing what exactly paper dolls for boys should contain or what paper doll sets that might appeal to boys should contain, is rather hard for me.

Still, I figure all kids like realism in their toys, so I try to be at least as realistic to guy’s clothing as I can be considering that I find guy’s clothing pretty darn boring.

Víctor here is, in my head anyway, a young man, maybe from Mexico or Argentina. So, in my head, Víctor is Latino, but of course, he can be anything you feel like making him. After all, the things we create don’t behave themselves.

His clothing is a mix of casual pieces that the guys I know tend to wear. T-shirts, pants, shorts and a baseball cap. I like to give paper-dolls sandals in their first set, because sandals are very skin-tone dependent.

I will confess that I am little embarrassed by how out of proportion his novel is. Maybe it’s a very tiny novel…

As with all the paper dolls in the Sprite series, Víctor can share clothing with Xavier & Zachary.

I do have one more Sprite paper doll mostly finished, but I think I’ll save her for a later date. After all, there are other paper doll series on this blog that need love, too!

As usual, you can support the blog through Patreon. I also wanted to say “Hello” to any new readers who found me through my Viking paper doll which went a little viral on Facebook, or so I have been told.

Normally, I try not to post two fashion paper doll sets in a row, but somehow my life just didn’t let me finish up the other sets I had hoped to have done. Sometime’s life is like that, so for today’s paper doll dress up, you’ll just have to live with another contemporary fashion set.

A lot of these pieces are based on things from fashion magazines.

One of my goals with this set was to use more pattern on each piece. So, I decided to focus on floral patterns. It was fun to create the patterns for these pieces. Of all of the different pieces, my favorite is the drop waisted floral dress. (The polkadot covered jeans are a close second, I confess. They are based on a pair owned by my sister.)

I will openly confess that I really don’t remember everything I was thinking when I designed this set, except that I really wanted to play with pattern. See? Not very set has a deep philosophical story behind it.

I’m not sure exactly what season this clothing would really work for. I mean, the turtlenecks are much more autumnal, but the florals are certainly a summer thing. I gave it the title Summer Garden, so I guess it’s summery?

A friendly reminder that if you like the blog and you’d like to support it, I do have a Patreon page where you can donate to keep things around here up and running. It’s also home to the Vivian Project.

I’m also pleased to show off my draft version of my new paper doll index page. It’s still being tweaked, so I’d love to hear what people think of it as well.

I have been thinking about spring, but it feels a long away off. Even here in Alabama where the winters are so mild compared to what I have experienced in Alaska and the Midwest. Still, today’s paper doll to print is celebrating the possibility of warm spring fashions.

As I mentioned back when I first introduced the Sprite paper dolls, I want to establish a limited collection of dolls who will get outfits much like the Marisole Monday & Friends and the Mini-Maidens. So, this is the second Yumiko paper doll to print.

I figured after her foray into cyberpunk, the she deserved a chance to be a little more casual. I think her casual wardrobe is a little disconnected. I love all the pieces by themselves, but together they feel less the cohesive. I am getting over my mixed feelings by reminding myself that eventually there will be other Sprite paper dolls with casual clothes she can share with.

I struggled a bit to select colors for today’s paper doll to print. I am, personally, a lover of color. In the end, I settled on black as the neutral (though I worry with this paper doll’s black curls does that make too much black?) and pale blue as the other neutral. The patterned blouse over the striped skirt caused some problems since the complicated patterned needed a lot of colors to look right, but I think maybe the chose to many different colors for this collection? I think that’s adding to the lack of cohesion that is bothering me so much.

So, clearly, in case you couldn’t notice, I’ve got mixed feelings about today’s Sprite paper doll. Don’t get me wrong. There are things I love about her- those blouses, that darling purse with the tassel, her cute red shorts. But she feels… a tiny bit discombobulated.

Oh well, not every paper doll is perfect and if I only posted the paper dolls I was “totally in love with”, than I rather suspect I wouldn’t ever post anything at all.

Also, if you love the blog and want to help it keep going- support it through Patreon. There’s a special behind the scenes blog, perviews of sets, and I am way more likely to make patron requests, because… well, they are giving me money. So, consider joining up– it’s a fun group.

Today’s printable paper doll in black and white is Greta sporting an autumnal wardrobe. Greta’s wardrobe was inspired by what I see the college kids on the campus where I work wearing in the fall. Most of my paper dolls are pretty high fashion, or at least very trendy. This has to do with my source materials which tends towards InStyle and Bazaar, but most college students I work with seem a lot more attached to their jeans and t-shirts.

(In college, I lived in a hoodie, jeans and flip-flops- even when it was pouring rain.)

This more casual version of Greta has some jeans, shorts, capris and then a few tops. I focused on sweaters on this set and just gave her a casual t-shirt dress which seems to be a style I see around a lot these days. I can not wear t-shirt dresses, but hey- paper dolls don’t complain when you dress them. 🙂

This is my fourth paper doll of 2015 with glasses. I am really embarrassed when I realized that in 2014 I only did one paper doll with glasses. So, one of my unstated goals of 2015, was to do more paper dolls with glasses. While four isn’t that many, I suppose, it is still better than one. I really want to do a historical paper doll with glasses ever since I saw this portrait from 1839 with the cutest glasses. I just haven’t gotten around to it. Researching accessories is an often time consuming part of historical paper doll production.

Right now, I am polling my readers on what they might like to see in the future, that is NOT paper doll related (or at least not a printable paper doll.)

On Wednesdays, I'd be interested in seeing..

Tutorials on How To Draw (29%, 28 Votes)

Short Articles about Historical Costume (19%, 18 Votes)

Behind the Scenes Content (17%, 16 Votes)

Tutorials on How to do Things in Photoshop (16%, 15 Votes)

Interviews with Other Paper Doll Artists (10%, 10 Votes)

Thoughts and Advice about Blogging (9%, 9 Votes)

Total Voters: 47

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As always, if you like the blog, I’d appreciate your support on Patreon. Thank you to everyone who already supports me. You guys rock!

I named today’s printable paper doll “Cerise” which is a French name meaning “Cherry”, because of her red paper-doll base. Cerise has the same skin-tone as Natalie. So they can share shoes.

I like redheads. I blame this on Anne of Green Gables and my grandmother. My grandmother had the most beautiful red hair. (That sentence makes it sound like she’s dead. She’s not dead, but her hair is now grey.)

I did not inherit this and I have been bitter about that for a long time. So, if it was up to me, most of my paper dolls would default to red heads.

I try to fight this natural urge, since I want diversity and variety in my paper doll world.

I’ve been in this whole printable paper doll drawing thing for a while. There’s a few things I have learned and one of them is that what I like is not always what my readers like.

Now, a lot of the time I don’t care. Sorry, folks, but I draw for me first and for most. Don’t get me wrong, I love that I have active readers and every comment I get makes me smile, but if I couldn’t draw what I liked than I would go mad. Mad I tell you!

(Okay, maybe that was a little overly dramatic. 🙂 )

I mention this in direct relation to black and white paper doll sets. They are easier for me, since coloring takes time, but when I was a kid I really didn’t like to color. I know that sounds odd, but I never really “got” coloring books. They were boring. I far more wanted to draw my own stuff than color someone else’s drawing.

So, sometimes I forget that I have readers who LOVE my black and white paper dolls.

That’s part of why I created the Mini-Maiden’s series. I wanted to share with my readers something just for the black and white coloring readers that I have. I might not “get it”, but I am do enjoy drawing them and not having to color them in does make them easier to finish.

To bring this around to this actual post, let’s talk about Isadora. Isadora has only had three other outfit sets and none of them are contemporary. The poor girl can go to balls or fight off radioactive hordes, but she hasn’t got a decent pencil skirt. (Everyone needs a decent pencil skirt.) Well, all that ends today!

When I do contemporary sets, I like to do them in themes. So, for this set I was thinking about sweet, lady-like fashions. I wanted some delicate details like the rose pattern on the shorts and the scalloped hem on the pencil skirt. I often see these styles on the college students I work with, being that this is the South and all, so I wanted to do something of a Southern Belle. All she needs are white lace gloves and a mint-julep to sip while sitting in a white rocking chair.

Her short hair was intended to contrast with the wardrobe.

Today is Friday the 13th, if you’re the superstitious sort. I think paper dolls are good protection from such things. 🙂

By the way, speaking to my coloring readers, I know some people use simple coloring programs, but I have no ideas what they are. So, my questions are: What programs to y’all use? What file formats do those programs like? And would coloring sheets with no grey be useful?

(I’m thinking about digital paper dolls for sale right now and trying to decide what file formats to offer.)

And if you like my paper dolls, please consider supporting me through Patreon.